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China Voice: Self-reproach is the right attitude to advance judicial reform

Xinhua, March 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Admitting mistakes is much better than hiding your head in the sand when it comes to reform and development.

Thus, when a top judge and top prosecutor voiced remorse for judiciary oversight, they were lauded for displaying the attitude necessary to truly reform the judiciary.

In his report made to the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday, Chief Justice Zhou Qiang expressed self-reproach for wrongful convictions during his tenure.

Procurator-General Cao Jianming also called for self-reflection on wrongful convictions in his report.

Mistakes made by the judiciary have serious implications. For those involved, it costs them their reputation, freedom and even life, while it causes society to question the judicial system and the rule of law.

The comprehensive implementation of rule of law is impossible without a credible judicial system and strict discipline.

Following the correction of wrongful convictions, more effort should be made to avoid history repeating itself.

Questions must be answered: Why have judicial organs failed to ensure justice? Was it because of intervention or incompetence?

Back in October 2014, following the release of a blueprint for rule of law set by the fourth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, President Xi Jinping warned of serious systematic problems in the judiciary and pledged to remove injustice.

Problems identified included the manipulation of cases in exchange for personal gain and intervention by outside parties.

The system can only be fixed by tracing the problems back to their roots. Therefore, a well-designed system is needed to ensure the authority of law and independence.

Judicial transparency is one solution. In addition to official supervision, the judicial system must be open to public scrutiny.

Both of the work reports of the SPC and SPP designated nearly half of their length to the explanation of legal terms and the profiling of important cases to ensure lawmakers had a better understanding of the content of the reports.

Judicial reform is an ongoing process, that will take time, however, the remorse shown by the top judge and prosecutor is a significant step in the right direction. Endi